Journal

Having been mulling over my camera situation for a while, my thoughts were that I need to compliment my Sony R1 with a DSLR so I can extend my options a bit … but which way to jump, with a very limited budget and a very picky ‘eye’ since I’ve been used to stunning results with the Carl Zeiss lens on the wonderfully user-friendly R1.…

After many false starts and a bit of procrastination, I had a rush of blood to the head a couple of nights ago and bid on a second hand Nikon D80 at the last minute – and won it – for $A590 – from a local seller so I was able to pick it up yesterday (and was offered a commission at the same time! That’s another story …).

Now the tough part … it has an older very soft lens. I’ve borrowed Sarah’s Tamron 28-300 (1:3.5 – 6.3) and these are the first couple of shot

It could be that the RedBubble meetup today in Sydney opposite the former Gallery26 site (Milsons Point) will take a prize for the least number of photos taken on a get together … it seems there were more pressing matters to attend to – including … fascination with the funky stainless steel toilet block with auto doors and blinking lights of various colours… numerous visits to, and vocal imitations of the musak played in the said facility … creative explanations for the 10 minute limit imposed on ‘convenience’ usage… speculation why anyone would want to spend 10 minutes in the cubicle in the first place… conjecture whether more than one person would be allowed at the same time… wild ideas as to what really would happen if the 10 minutes was exceeded, complete with sound effects (I notice…

For those who are local (Sydney – Australia) - don’t forget the meetup on the grass under the Bridge opposite the old Gallery 26 site and just around the corner from Luna Park, this Sunday 20th at 1pm … BYO nibbles and drinks. This is not so much a shoot as a catch-up – the ‘family’ hasn’t really got together in yonks!!!

Tony Middleton has put up an excellent link to two of Ken Duncan’s articles on the frustrations (and so-called legal stands) relating to photographing publicly in Australia – particularly in The Outback. Excellent reading … I love Ken’s comment saying in essence we have more freedom to take photos in Communist China than we do in our beautiful country. And let ME add, as for photographers being a potential terrorist threat, when will bureaucrats realise it is GUNS that shoot to kill, not cameras!It is excellent to know professionals like Ken are putting their weight behind the issue in higher places.

We’ve been tossing around ideas for a G26 reunion, but can’t please all the people all the time (!!) so the bullet has been bitten — Brett Keith and Sarah have decided on 20 Dec at 1pm – on the grass under the Bridge (opposite the old G26 site in Alfred Street Milsons Point). BYO picnic, and come chill / chew the fat for a few hours. This is not exclusive – if you are a Sydneysider and want to mosey along and join the ‘family’, feel free!! No doubt there’ll be an official note in the Sydney Group – this is just to aid in reaching as many locals as possible!!

By popular demand!!! There are some who missed our first afternoon of fun, soI’ll be running a second workshop Friday 20 November (12.30 – 2.30pm) at Red Door Creative Gallery in the northwest of Sydney – a repeat of the previous tutorial – details follow (just ignore the date on the flyer!). Please advise asap if you’d like to attend (rosaliedale@ozemail.com.au) or contact Sarah on 0400 111 904.…

Maybe someone you know would like this as an early Christmas gift!!!

We’ll share tips and tricks on turning memorabilia into wall hangers. (Why have the family squabble over your treasures – turn them [the heirlooms, not the relatives! Now there’s a thought … ! ] into a work of art which each member can own!) This is NOT a scrapbooking exercise – it involves setup, lighting, and processing with e

I am concerned that members of RB from countries deemed to be “more fraudulent” are now being blacklisted by RB (see here) which means they can’t buy our works (and we can’t sell to them). Philip has put forward an articulate and extremely well researched journal entry, well worth perusal. What bothers me most is (a) the action was taken against these members without advising them either by BM, as a communication from Community, or as part of the Wrap, (only by a well hidden Forum entry deep in the hidden recesses of the site) and (b) the official response to Philip’s concern devalues the contribution of residents of these countries by mentioning they only represent 1% of sales … the inference is not terribly reassuring … In my experience it does not pay to try to do these things quietly …

Following the Workshop (producing a nostalgic feel in your still life shots) this Saturday, I will be taking an out-of-town attendee to enjoy the delightful 55 hectare Fagan Park … a bonus! If you’d like to join us, let me know.

There is also a possibility that the workshop will be repeated Friday 20th for those unable to make it on the 7th. Email me at rosaliedale@ozemail.com.au if this interests you.

Sydneysiders – I’d love to have you join me on 7th November when we’ll share tips and tricks on turning memorabilia into wall hangers. (Why have the family squabble over your treasures – turn them [the heirlooms, not the relatives! Now there’s a thought … ! ] into a work of art which each member can own!) This is NOT a scrapbooking exercise – it involves setup, lighting, and processing with either Photoshop or Picasa (free software) – learning to give the image depth, engage the emotions, and produce a unique nostalgic feel. See the flyer below for details … SamplesWorkshop details

If you are not already a member of Rusty Crusty and Falling to Bits Group, this may be the time to join! Steve McLaren will give an image of his choice, from the challenge just launched free hanging space at his forthcoming exhibition 23 November – 4 December at the Tap Gallery in Paddington (Sydney Australia). The voted winner of this challenge will be our Avatar for a period, but Steve’s choice of all entrants will be exhibited at this prestigious venue.

Naturally this will be easier for Sydney entrants, however if you are really keen, an anyone could have RB prepare the image and deliver it directly to Steve providing the deadline is met.

So get sorting through your portfolio, or shoot and enter within the next few days, and you could become famous!!! :)

Last Tuesday we farewelled my dad (Vic Cross – patriach of an extended Redbubble family!). Many RBers have requested images and details of the service so I am uploading a few here. The formalities were conducted by our good mate Max. True to family style, laughter mingled with tears at both the official service as well as the ‘after party’ as we moved on and celebrated dad’s life at Sarah’s gallery, where only a few weeks earlier dad had exhibited one of his canvases. A dish of liquorice allsorts stood proudly among the memorabilia at the hall, to the bewilderment of some of those not ‘in the know’!!…

Dad’s love of flowers, and of the bush, were reflected in the official floral arrangement … its base is a hollow branch from Sarah and Glen’s land. Sarah performed various acrobatic feats to

A slightly belated, but still delighted, thank you to chantalreuss who purchesed 10 assorted cards of my images on 20th October … the day of my dad’s funeral! As Chantal is not a long-time frequent user of RB, she did not know of the significance of the day…which makes the incident all the more special.…

Still tidying up in the aftermath of my dad’s passing, but will be back when the formalities are completed and things are more under control. What an amazing family we have here on RB (and DPF) … we feel so blessed and amazed to have not only had so many written messages and tributes from around the world, but also phone calls from Israel and South Africa ( xxx Phil and Warren) as well as various states of Australia. If you knew dad’s history, you would realise why this means so much. He’

My precious dad (Vic Cross) is finally at rest after his courageous choice for ‘end of life’ procedures to commence last Sunday. Right up till last night he recognised faces and names, responded to messages read to him, and was pretty stroppy about still being here when he’d ordered things otherwise! We are so sad but so pleased he didn’t linger on ……

Having punched his teacher’s lights out in 6th class (at about 12 yrs old) his headmaster suggested he’d do better working on the farm than sitting behind a desk. This lack of education always plagued dad’s self esteem, however anyone who met him found an articulate, intelligent bloke who could hold his own in any company, and in the latter part of his life, we saw a softer, creative side … it is amazing how many lives he’s touched at the vil

For more than a week I’ve suffered frustrations getting online … the difficulty is still persisting so I’ve been AWOL quite a bit, and probably will continue to just be able to pop in and out briefly as the software problem permits!

Also – my dear old dad, Vic Cross is very low. He has not recovered from his recent hospital stays, and is battling fluid-filled lungs, with each breath being an effort now. He’s exhausted and wanting release … dear Max visited him yesterday, and many RBers have sent messages. He appreciates these expressions of love and concern … one of his big frustrations is that he hasn’t been able to see or think clearly enough to keep up with RB as he would like.

Please pray for his comfort, and wisdom for those caring for him at this time.

. . . was to shoot pre-ceremony shots for my brother’s wedding, in 45 minutes flat, at a venue I’d never laid eyes on before (the Sebel in Melbourne – formerly the old Treasury building so fortunately quite photogenic!), in typical stormy Melbourne weather … and to create images with ‘an edge’ rather than ‘sweet and flowery’. I was so nervous I actually dug out the vacuum and cleaned Steve and Mae’s house prior to the shoot just to use up spare adrenaline!!…

Here’s a start I’ve made on the 120 shots taken – am struggling with making the end result ‘different’ so any constructive suggestions would be welcome.

Brother Steve is a professional sound technician – Mae (Parker) makes up one third of the Vanilla Supremes (“from Motown to Funky Town”!!) and performs solo as well. As you can imagin

Haven’t kept up with featureds and Top 10s lately, but just had to take a moment to share the overnight news – my shot of a wonderful character, Sam, and his cat (Best Friends) was featured on Home Page overnight!!

Thank you Redbubble! What an honour – and Sam will be absolutely stoked when I tell him. The cat is the light of his life!!!

Photography competition to be judged by Ken Duncan at Hunter Valley Gardens (Hunter Valley, NSW Australia) … click here … need to be quick as entries close 15 Aug. There are categories for various age groups including teens and children.

Many thanks to the buyer of Rust ’n Roses No 4 in card form recently, as well as to the hosts who have featured many of my images, and wonderful group members who have voted lots of my shots into the Top 10 in challenges.

The Opening Night of the Red Door Creative Galleries exhibition on Friday 24th (Sarah’s brainchild) was a resounding success.…

Many Redbubblers enjoyed catching up (it’s been a while)…one was even sneaky enough to catch the whole evening on time lapse photography … see here!!! It shows many familiar faces, as well as visitors from as far afield as Melbourne, Bellingin and Cootamudra …

The Mayor of Hornsby opened the event with an excellent speech recognising the importance of creative activities in the area, and Alan Cadman (former Liberal Member of Mitchell for 33 years) and his wife enjoyed the art and meeting local artists. Both men privately offered their support for future events and appreciated the fact that the venture, particularly the workshops to follow, offer a healthy and rewa

A wonderful surprise to receive a sale notification today – a Poster version of Morning Delight has gone to a very discerning anonymous buyer!!

THANK YOU!!

We are living on adrenaline this end as we continue to move towards our Red Door Creative Galleries Exhibition opening night on 24th July … so far we have the Mayor actually performing the ‘launch’, local jazz singer Jane Hart providing mood music, and incredible art from people like NSW AIPP Illustrative Photographer of the year Tanya Rochat,

Roll up on the night if you are anywhere in the vicinity – 7pm – 10pm!!!!

A wonderful surprise this morning to find a card of Grieg Piano Concerto sold! Much appreciation to the buyer – it is always lovely to find someone likes your work enough to pay good money for it!!…

There’s frantic activity on this end as we prepare for Sarah’s new venture (photography and photoshop workshops) with a grand Opening Night and Exhibition to launch the project on 24th here in Dural. If you will be in the area and would like an invitation (from which you could win a redbubble canvas print, or a photo shoot or …. !!!) let us know and we’ll get one to you! If nothing else, free nibbles, great company and a live jazz group will make it a pleasant night out.

On exhibit will be photography (of course), as well as fine art, paper sculpture and calligraphy, stained glass, 3D digital a

This is one of those serendipidous moments that brings a smile to your face. (Especially as I’ve been thinking I maybe should move on, camera-wise … perhaps my Sony R1 is trying to tell me something?!!).

A few shots were taken in the backyard today simply because the sun was out (finally) and I needed an excuse for some fresh air. There’s almost nothing blooming so I snapped a few tiny forget-me-nots only to find, on uploading, that my final frame caught this little fellow doing a kamikase dive.

It is often the unexpected, little things that are the most rewarding!!!

Recently I emailed images from the local big park (Fagan Park) to Hornsby Council suggesting they would make wonderful postcards, calendars etc to promote the area, especially with a kiosk now being built near the main park entry.…

Today I not only was told photographs are sourced via their annual Hornsby Council photo comp (which is not widely advertised so I was unaware of it!) but that Council has a policy re photography (where have we heard this before? There must be an epidemic!) and if anyone intends to put photos up for sale, there is a ‘process’ to go through, and payment of a fee!!!

So I will need to make my Fagan shots for viewing only on RB, which also means they will not be available on my bubblesite. I think it is the latter matter which distresses me more. They are a major pa

I was chuffed to find my old piano featured on www.digitalimagecafe.com today as POTDay in the Still Life category … it is quite a challenge to get to the front page!…

Over last weekend Grieg Piano Concerto received a Highly Commended at the Henry Lawson Festival at Grenfell (country New South Wales, Australia) where a plethora of RB-ites competed and / or exhibited (GailD, SharonD, Darren Stones, George Petrovsky, Noelene Davies, Julie and Geoff Grattan, Jan and Arthur Richardson … and more!!). There was some stiff competition … it is always great to rub digi-shoulders with photographers from far and near.

Thanks to those who’ve voted for my images in challenges, and to the hard-working hosts who have found merit in many of my latest uploads, honouring them with Features.

I have had many bubblemails under different names all saying the following … if you receive any, report every single one of them (by hitting the report button at the bottom of the message) to RB. This person is obviously registering many names and if you go look at his/her profile, never has any images up, or favourites, or a watchlist. DON’T RESPOND to the message – just report it and let RB deal with the situation.…

Note Tom’s comment below – it leads to an attack site so DEF DON’T RESPOND!

Hello my dear.My name is Gift i saw your profile today at (www.redbubble.com )and i became intrested so please i will like you to email me back through my email address thus:(gift_44loveyou@yahoo.com). pls i will like you to send me your email address so that i will tell you more about my self and als

Many thanks to the anonymous buyer of Faded Rose as a mounted print (16 May 09) … I am honoured. I trust it gives you great pleasure!

Among other featureds, challenge wins and ‘top tens’ recently, is a very pleasing Best of Category win for the Theme “Light” for the Month of April on Shutterbugs.biz. The BOC is subject to vote by quite a few people so I was quite chuffed. The winning image was Toward the Lilypond.

When I get photographer’s block, or am underwhelmed by my latest offerings, it is the encouragement and comments of my peers that gets me moving again – so thank you everyone for persevering. AND can I encourage you, in turn, to have a go … it is amazing how many people will love something that you may think twice about uploading!

It was great to find that my own HDR version of The Basin received 2nd prize in Something Old category, and Blue Rain a 3rd in Nature at the Hawkesbury and District Agricultural Show this past weekend.

Keep your eyes peeled – Redbubblers Gaild and Georgep also received some rewarding news from the same competition!

Other encouragement has come in the form of another couple of Photo of the Day awards on Shutterbugs.biz, some top 10s,and featureds for some recent shots. Now all we have to do is convert our wins to sales … !! :)

Thanks to all who comment, encourage, and critique. Couldn’t do it without you!!

This free site is international, it has ‘photo of the day ’awards for eight categories (seven days a week), and, for financial members, it extends then to monthly and annual prizes also. It is not a labour intensive ’social’ site requiring heaps of time, but it pits you against excellent work from around the globe and helps challenge your comfort zone. Great for growth!!!

You’ve no doubt noticed Group News no longer goes out as bubblemail – it appears instead in the right hand ‘feed’ area of the Activity Monitor and disappears again all within minutes so news is being missed!!! It gets directed over to the appropriate Forum area of each Group BUT of course not many people go searching Forums for info ……

SO … PLEASE, if you are interested in having an opportunity to hang your Rusty Crusty work for FREE in the Tap Gallery in November (here in Sydney) go to this link and see what’s afoot … it is very exciting! Steve McLaren is offering 2 places at his “I’m Rusted, I’m Crusted, I’m Falling to Bitz” exhibition … more details at the link.

And today’s bit of excitement for me has been finding my image Toward the Lilypond receiving a Photo of the Day award at Shutt

I must thank the lovely Tainia for purchasing a card of “A Life with Love …” within a couple of hours of it being uploaded today! Thank you Tai – I do hope your friend enjoys it.

AND, out in the ‘real’ world, a matted print of “As Time Goes By” sold at the Narrandera Rotary Art & Photography Exhibition a week ago, and will be finding a home in Finland!! Thanks to GailD who gave me the push to enter …

I missed one of my awards at the Castle Hill Show last week and only discovered it on Tuesday night at the Camera Club meeting – the good old stripey sox received a Highly Commended!!

Having been away for a few days, there’s a bit to catch up on – not the least of which is a sale of a LARGE FRAMED PRINT of Go Placidly to an anonymous buyer!…

THANK YOU – what an honour – my largest sale yet!

Our local Agricultural Show at Castle Hill is reported to be the largest apart from Sydney’s Royal Easter Show, so it has been exciting this weekend to find that FOUR Redbubblers have received ‘gongs’ in the photography section for a number of images – GailD, Dennis Gay, SharonD and myself. I’ll let the others share their awards with you, but my notable mentions were Third Place in Manipulated Images for Vintage Effect and Highly Commended in mono for Grieg Piano Concerto.

Thank you everyone for your continued encouragement and constructive help! Always appreciated and vital to that

I’m outa here for the week – no TV, no internet, just beach and rest and no doubt some photographs, and a good book!

Before I go I need to thank the anonymous WONDERFUL person who purchased a matted print of Bridal Veil Falls No 1 a few days ago … what a blast !!! THANK YOU !!!

I also need to thank the hosts of Groups who have recently Featured my shots, and all who have voted for my images thereby gaining some top tens and even a win or two!

There is never a dull moment on RB (well … hardly ever!!! Noticed a few quiet days recently where people must have had better offers … strange how it happens that everything goes quiet all at once for a while!).

In response to some “how” questions and in line with Digital Art Compilations Group, I have now added this mini-tutorial to the description of my Looking for Love image…

Do hope it helps some in their foray into the world of blending images!! My info relates to CS3.

First – process the background image. (In fact this image had been processed for weeks but I felt it lacked ‘something’!!)

Second – the figure was placed (which automatically gives a second layer) and blended using the opacity slider, “blend if” options in the blending mode, and erase tool. A shadow was produced with the burn tool, and light controlled on the figure with dodge, burn, and a white brush at about 5%. The blur tool was also used around any hard edges to help the figure blend into the background and not appear sharp

Strange as it may seem, my daughter Katie is NOT addicted to photography, but travels regularly, often to unusual places.

Her recent trip included East Timor (certainly not on the popular tourist route!) and Bali. As she is not convinced her shots are RB material, I have created an account called IntrepidTravel where I will begin uploading some of her images, as I believe they are worth sharing. If nothing else, she’s been to places a lot of us would never get to see any other way.

She’s used her grandfather’s old Kodak 3mp point ’n shoot, but nevertheless has produced very credible results … please take a moment to have a look, and encourage her efforts!!!

If anyone knows of a great wildlife photographer in / around the Sydney area who would be willing to do a presentation at a Camera Club first Tuesday night in April, please let me know! (I am presuming they mean animal wildlife, not human … !!!)

A local LARGE Camera Club has had their scheduled speaker fall through, and needs a replacement who is experienced in this area. They pay a small gratuity, you recieve lots of kudos and warm claps, and any of the speaker’s own products may be tastefully promoted and/or sold on the night at discretion of club management.

I am scratching my head to think of anyone in our area who fits this description – now if we lived in Africa … !!!!

4th April sees Bundanoon, an historic village about an hour and a half’s drive southwest of Sydney, turn into “Brigadoon” for the day (even the station name is changed!!) while the Scots take over.…

This is a not-to-be missed day of fun and photo opportunities. Apart from marching bands and bagpipes, there are The Highland Games (including the lifting of the Stone of Manhood, and Caber Tossing), ‘best dressed’ prizes, sword fights, a lone fiddler, 100s of stalls … even the dogs dress up for the day!

A few of us are going to be there and thought it may be a great opportunity for a few RBers to hang out and share the experience. Please let me, or Philip Johnson know if you are interested, and we’ll arrange a time and place to meet.

Thank you to the wonderful person who purchased a copy of Produce overnight – PROCEEDS go to the RED CROSS VICTORIAN BUSHIRE APPEAL with the amount matched by RB … so this is a very worthwhile and appreciated sale.

NB I am writing this for users of Photoshop – although most functions are available in Elements also …

I have been asked many times for tips on giving shots a nostalgic feel, and also for advice on rescuing a ‘dud’ shot. ( I seem to get some kind of perverse pleasure from making something from a photo which is apparently useless – maybe is it symbolic!!)

So, I have combined both (a ‘rescue’ technique as well as some nostalgic processing) in producing “The Lamp” and, for those who are interested, outlined some of the steps below. Please note this is NOT a traditional tutorial – the process is different for every photo, and each step allows room for personal taste and interpretation – no two people would end up with the same result!

Huge thanks to Suzanne who puchased a copy of The Wood Basket, and to AndyDog who purchased Graffiti #2 … proceeds from these sales will go to the Red Cross Victorian Bushfire Appeal here in Australia – and that’s not all! Redbubble is matching the amount so the donation doubles!! THANK YOU both for supporting this worthy cause.…

And also on the ‘good news’ front, I notice this morning that Beethoven’s Gift has won the Parched Flower challenge…thanks to all who voted and to Adriana and co-hosts!!

Along with many other Redbubblers I am donating profits from any sales of my work on RB to the Red Cross Bushfire Appeal till April 1st to support those who have suffered loss in the Victorian fires here in Australia.

If you have ever thought you’d like one of my images for your wall, as a card, or to use as a gift, now is the time – the proceeds could not go to a better cause.

Yes, we are sweltring. Daz has listed some sites for Victoria where we can keep an eye on how the unbelievable number of bushfires are going … i thought NSWelshmen may also appreciate this link which shows similarly each fire in rural NSW and whether it is controlled, patrolled, or whatever.

It is 46 degrees on my back verandah at the moment here in Sydney – imagine what it is out west! My granddaughter is most impressed that we are heading towards being the hottest country in the world this weekend!!! I could live without that honour!

For those who were asking how to insert a gif etc., it is the same as inserting other images into your text as it turns out!!!

Have Redbubble open to the page you are working on, and another web page (not just a file on your computer – MUST be a web page) which shows the image/gif that you want to insert.Right click on the desired image (in my case the dancing chook!)Go down to PropertiesSelect the entire URL Address (make sure you get it all – I use Ctrl A to make sure it is properly selected!!)Copy it (Ctrl c)Paste it into your Redbubble page where you want it to show, with an exclamation mark … that is ! … at each end with no spaces.

If I seem unresponsive over the next few days it will because I am away … hopefully getting beautiful south coast shots and some R&R!…

Thank you for your wonderful support and encouragement – it was a tough Christmas break with both the anniversary of Axel’s drowning as well as my old dad’s medical crisis (thank heaps to those who are sending him get well messages – he continues to be frustrated by loss of sight – something we hope we can find a way around over time …) but both events have been made more bearable thanks to your messages and support!